(AFP) Hungary and Austria on Tuesday rejected criticism from the UN’s new human rights chief over their migration policies, accusing her of spreading “half-truths” and “baseless suspicions.” In her maiden speech as UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet on Monday […]
(Local) A new report by a Paris think-tank underlines “the progress of Islamist ideology among Muslims in France,” suggesting that Salafi Islam can be stamped out through a “halal tax” and Arabic being taught in French schools. According to the report released […]
(CBC) Members of B.C.’s Syrian community say they are concerned the announcement of Ibrahim Ali’s murder charge for the death of Marrisa Shen — and Ali’s status as a former refugee — could lead to unwarranted backlash. Police on Monday announced that […]
(Katherimini) Turkey has called on Greece to “re-examine” a provision voted through Parliament last month that stipulates Muslim religious leaders (muftis) in the Greek border region of Western Thrace must retire at the age of 67. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy […]
(Local) A much-discussed proposal that would require new Danish [citizens] to shake hands with their local mayor would also come with a tripling of the fee new Danes have to pay to receive their citizenship. Forcing all citizenship applicants to participate in […]
(IPT) Like most Islamist gatherings, “Islamophobia” was a big topic at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)’s annual convention during Labor Day weekend. For example, author Khaled Beydoun linked Islamophobia’s origins to white supremacy, while pollster Dalia Mogahed cited concern over […]
(Swiss Info) The Federal Court says that an initiative by the conservative right Swiss People’s Party to ban head coverings in schools in the southern canton of Valais is invalid. It confirms the decision taken by the Valais parliament. The People’s Party […]
(AFP) The far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) on Friday said their leader Jimmie Akesson has received a letter with a death threat as the party is on course to win record support in Sunday’s legislative election. “We hope that this threat is not […]
(AFP) Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Friday launched a blistering attack on prosecutors in Sicily after they confirmed a probe into his refusal to allow more than 100 rescued migrants off a coastguard ship last month. Prosecutors in Palermo on […]
(Brussels Times) The Islamic and Cultural Center of Belgium (CICB) contests before the State Council the decision of Interior Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA) to cancel the concession agreement for the Great Mosque of Brussels, Sudpresse newspapers report Thursday. The oral arguments were […]
(AFP) Police moved in to clear 500 migrants from a camp near the French port city of Dunkirk, along the English Channel where many gather hoping to stow away on trucks or ferries heading to Britain, officials said Thursday. Around 200 officers […]
(Al-Arabiya) A court in Geneva hearing the Tariq Ramadan case has explained that the “threshold necessary to justify opening a criminal investigation is present and this has been the case since the beginning of the procedure,” a report in the Le Point […]
(Dutch News) The head of the anti-immigration PVV on The Hague’s city council is calling for a criminal investigation into the alleged rape of fellow councillor Willie Dille who killed herself in August this year. Dille (53) placed a video online hours […]
(AFP) Madrid estimates that 10,000 minor migrants are on Spanish soil alone without their parents and has unblocked 40 million euros ($46.5 million) for regions willing to welcome them, the health ministry said Wednesday. The new Socialist government, in power for three […]
(AP) Several hundred supporters of Greece’s extreme right Golden Dawn party have staged a protest near central Athens against plans to build a state-funded mosque in the Greek capital. Authorities used riot police buses to block roads near the construction site during […]
(AP) EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova says the European Commission is set to unveil new rules that could force internet companies to take down suspected terror content. Jourova told reporters Wednesday that “we should have absolute certainty that all the platforms and […]
(IPT) In a year in which Muslim political candidates are breaking new ground or falling just short, it’s not surprising to see politics dominate the country’s largest annual gathering of Muslim Americans. But the political sessions at the annual Islamic Society of […]
(Radio Iowa) An eastern Iowa non-profit group is offering sports hijabs to help Muslim girls stay active. Starting this fall, the organization Girls On The Run will supply the athletic versions of the Muslim headscarf to girls who request them. Executive director […]
(AFP) Emmanuel Macron will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille on Friday, a French official said, seeking support as he takes on nationalist EU leaders over immigration and institutional reforms. The meeting will focus on “European […]
(CTV) Sulemaan Ahmed’s son Adam is nine years old, loves hockey and is constantly mistaken for a potential terrorist when he travels. That’s because his name is the same as a man on Canada’s “no-fly list” of terror suspects. “Traveling with kids […]
(Swiss Info) The Swiss Centre for Islam and Society has announced the start of a training programme that will prepare Muslim spiritual leaders to give emergency support in hospitals, at care-homes or after an accident. The need for qualified Muslim chaplains in public institutions has been […]
(AFP) Thousands of opponents and supporters of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s immigration policy marched Saturday through the eastern city of Chemnitz after a wave of racist violence that followed a knife killing. The rallies, which drew 8,000 people according to police, ended […]
(AFP) Controversial anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders late Thursday said he was cancelling plans to stage a Prophet Mohammad cartoon competition, a scheme that had angered many Muslims particularly in Pakistan. The Dutch politician’s announcement came after he said he had received several […]
(Local) An election campaign stop at a public square in Falkenberg devolved into a food fight of sorts on Thursday when two protesters attempted to hit Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson with eggs and tomatoes. In one of the incidents, Åkesson was giving […]
(Deutsche Welle) The German government will no longer be funding projects run with the country’s largest Islamic umbrella group, the Interior Ministry in Berlin said on Thursday. Since the start of the year, the federal government has not approved any funding for […]
(Dutch News) Some of the most vulnerable refugees living in camps in Turkey have been rejected by the Netherlands because they have extremist sympathies or are too conservative, the Volkskrant reported on Wednesday. The Netherlands has agreed to take its “fair share” […]
(Local) A local politician representing the Social Democrats in Sävsjö has given up their candidacy after writing a Facebook post in Arabic that spread false information about opposing political parties. The post was written by an unnamed politician who was on the […]
(AFP) The Dutch police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of planning an attack against far-right politician Geert Wilders after he said he intended to hold a Prophet Mohammad cartoon competition. Police said in a statement they arrested the still unidentified suspect […]
(AFP) Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italy’s hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini launched Tuesday an anti-migration manifesto aiming at next year’s European parliament elections, and countering their opposing camp led by the French president. “There are currently two camps in […]
(Local) Billionaire Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Monday August 27th that a comprehensive action plan is necessary to stop illegal migration, which he will address on a visit to Italy and Malta this week. “If Italy and Malta won’t welcome […]
(Local) A senior local politician for Sweden’s Christian Democrats risks being … ejected from the party for calling for Islamists to be shot. Göran Jonzon, second in the party’s candidate list for the municipal council in Vilhelmina in the far north of […]
(AFP) Italy’s deputy prime minister has threatened to pull the country’s EU funding if the bloc does not come to the aid of 150 people stranded aboard an Italian coastguard ship. The migrants have been blocked at the Sicilian port of Catania […]
(AP) The Dutch prime minister on Friday distanced his government from a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest being organized later this year by anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. Wilders “is not a member of the government. The competition is not a government initiative,” Prime […]
(JTA) A Swedish politician from Malmo who has worked on integration of immigrants denied saying that Jews and Armenians have “impure spirits.” Muhammad Khorshid, who represents the Liberals on the city council of the municipality in southern Sweden, told Expressen that the […]
(Dutch News) Amsterdam’s new mayor Femke Halsema wants to take action against radical imams who do not break the law but are still “undesirable,” according to the city’s local paper the Parool. In addition, Halsema wants an end to mosque financing from […]
(Radio France) An alleged Islamist terror plotter was freed in April because an investigating judge forget to renew his pretrial custody, France’s justice ministry has admitted after revelations in the press. Oualid B walked out of preventive detention on 3 April despite the […]
(Deutsche Welle) In the first six months of 2018, there were 320 offenses committed against Muslims, mosques and other institutions associated with Islam in Germany, according to information from the Interior Ministry. That’s significantly lower than the nearly 500 cases reported during […]
(Local) Swedish authorities have said they are looking into an Islamic group which is encouraging Muslims in Sweden to abstain from voting in the upcoming election. The Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir has launched a campaign under the slogan “Use your voice — […]
(AAP) A spiritual healer denied telling a Sydney man he was drawing out black blood which was “the evil” when he placed suction cups on him and read out the Koran. Riza Morinaj also told police the man did not tell him […]
(Weekly Standard) The allegations against Keith Ellison are explosive, though at this point unproven. The Minnesota congressman’s ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan alleges that he verbally and physically abused her in 2016. “He looked at me, goes ‘Hey you f—ing hear me’ … and […]
(Express Tribune) Pakistan has lodged a strong protest with the Netherlands over a Dutch politician’s announcement of holding a competition of blasphemous caricatures. “The charge d’affaires of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was summoned to the Foreign Office on Monday and a […]
(Canadian Jewish News) The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) says it is “disgusted” and “alarmed” that a Toronto-based Arabic-language newspaper glorified Palestinian mothers who “sacrifice” their sons as suicide bombers and terrorists. CIJA said the Aug. 3 issue of Meshwar […]
(Yle) A citizens’ initiative demanding that lawmakers draw up a specific law to outlaw FGM in Finland has attracted over 50,000 signatures. This means it has met the threshold enacted in a 2012 Finnish law, and the Finnish Parliament must now put […]
(AFP) Chants of “Allahu akbar” rang out Saturday at a solemn Catholic state funeral in the Italian city of Genoa for the victims of a bridge collapse, who included two Albanian Muslims. They were among at least 38 people to have died […]
(JTA) J Street has withdrawn its endorsement of Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Michigan who recently called for a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tlaib, who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, also called for a reduction in […]
(BBC) A mosque where the Manchester Arena bomber worshipped denies encouraging people to “fight in any military struggle” following a BBC report. A sermon by Imam Mustafa Graf at Didsbury Mosque in 2016 called for the support of fighters in Syria, according […]
(AP) Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison said Friday he won’t abandon his campaign for attorney general amid allegations that he once physically abused an ex-girlfriend and said if she claims to have a video of the incident she should produce it. Normally a […]
(Swiss Info) A couple who refused to shake hands or answer questions with members of the opposite sex on a naturalisation board in Lausanne have been denied Swiss citizenship. In a statement issued on Friday, the Lausanne city authorities confirmed a recent […]
(AFP) Austria has rejected the asylum application of an Afghan claiming to be gay because he did not “act” or “dress” like a homosexual, according to a media report. An official in Lower Austria state found no grounds for fear of persecution […]
(JTA) A Michigan Democrat who is all but certain to become a congresswoman said she would “absolutely” vote against military aid to Israel, sparking criticism from a Jewish Democratic group. The candidate, Rashida Tlaib, also said in an interview that she favors […]
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